New
Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Launches
“Project Medicine Drop,” Providing
Consumers Opportunity to Dispose of Unused
Prescription Medication Throughout the YearPilot
Program Important Component of the Division’s
Fight to Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse

Pictured
behind the Project Medicine Drop box from
left: Chief John Dmuchowski of the
Little Falls Police Department; Lt. John Lombardi
of the Seaside Heights Police Department;
New Jersey Attorney General Paula T. Dow;
Thomas R. Calcagni, Director of the NJ Division
of Consumer Affairs; and Brian R. Crowell,
Special Agent in Charge of the NJ Division
of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Not
pictured, but also present: Dr. Christina
Tan, Deputy Director of the NJ Department
of Health and Senior Services.

NEWARK
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Thomas R. Calcagni, Director of the New Jersey
Division of Consumer Affairs, today led a
group of statewide public health and safety
partners in announcing the launch of “Project
Medicine Drop” – an important
component in the Division’s campaign
to halt the diversion and abuse of prescription
drugs.

Project
Medicine Drop is a pilot program in which,
beginning today, the Division of Consumer
Affairs will install “prescription
drug drop boxes” at three New Jersey
police departments – those in Little
Falls, Seaside Heights, and Vineland. Once
the boxes are in place, members of the public
will have the opportunity to dispose of
their unused and expired prescription medications
safely and securely. The opportunity is
available to the public seven days a week,
365 days a year.

Attorney
General Dow and Director Calcagni noted
that today’s announcement builds on
the success of the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s
National Take Back Initiative, and the American
Medicine Chest Challenge, which is sponsored
in New Jersey by the DEA, Partnership for
a Drug Free New Jersey, and Sheriffs’
Association of New Jersey. The most recent
DEA Take Back Day was held October 29, and
the most recent American Medicine Chest
initiative was held November 11. Both programs
enabled members of the public to drop off
their unused medications at pre-identified,
secure locations throughout those days.

Project
Medicine Drop makes the opportunity available
throughout the year. The three police departments
that have agreed to host the medicine drop
boxes will maintain custody of the deposited
drugs, and dispose of them according to
their normal procedures for the custody
and destruction of controlled dangerous
substances. They will report the quantity
of discarded drugs to the Division of Consumer
Affairs on a quarterly basis.

“For
too many New Jersey teenagers, addiction
begins in the medicine cabinet. National
surveys show teenagers who abuse these drugs
often take them from relatives, or get them
from friends. Many people mistakenly believe
prescription painkillers are less dangerous
and less addictive than cocaine or heroin
– but they are tragically wrong,”
Attorney General Dow said. “The fight
against addiction must therefore begin at
home. This pilot program will enable New
Jerseyans who wish to get rid of their unused
medications, to do so throughout the year
in a safe and secure manner.”

Consumers
from anywhere in New Jersey may deposit
their medications in any of the three drop
boxes being installed this week. The Division
plans to expand the program in 2012, to
include police departments in each of New
Jersey’s 21 counties.

“Forty
Americans die each day as a result of prescription
painkiller abuse,” said Thomas R.
Calcagni, Director of the New Jersey Division
of Consumer Affairs. “Reports indicate
that over twelve million Americans abused
prescription drugs in the last year alone,
while prescription opioid overdose now kills
more people than cocaine and heroin combined.
With the abuse of prescription drugs reaching
epidemic proportions, it’s the obligation
of all of us to ensure that unused medication
is disposed of securely and responsibly.
Today, we’re inviting parents, grandparents,
and others to join us on the front lines
of the battle against prescription drug
abuse. The simple act of depositing your
unused medications with Project Medicine
Drop will help prevent addiction, and help
save lives.”

Dow
and Calcagni pointed out that flushing unused
medications – especially those classified
as controlled dangerous substances (CDS)
– down the toilet, or discarding them
in the trash, poses health risks. Scientists
have expressed concerns about the effects
of medications released into water supplies
after flushing down the toilet or sink,
and the US Geological Survey has found traces
of pharmaceuticals in streams in 30 states.
Placing drugs in the trash creates the potential
that they will be found by those seeking
to sell or abuse them.

“Abuse
of prescription drugs is a growing epidemic
in this country that results in 15,000 deaths
annually,” said Health and Senior
Services Commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd.
“Project Medicine Drop will provide
a safe and convenient way to dispose of
prescription drugs and at the same time
help us prevent addiction, harmful overdoses
or accidental death."

Project
Medicine Drop will place unused drugs in
the custody of the Little Falls Police Department,
Seaside Heights Police Department, and Vineland
Police Department. These agencies are authorized
to take custody of controlled dangerous
substances, keep them secure, and safely
destroy them.

The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation
reported in June 2011 that a growing number
of young people are abusing prescription
drugs – and noted a significant
trend in which the practice has led not
only to increased incidences of painkiller
addiction, but to the abuse of heroin.

The DEA reports that prescription drugs,
including opioids and antidepressants,
are responsible for more overdose deaths
than “street drugs” such as
cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines.

The number of American teenagers and adults
who abuse prescription drugs is greater
than those who use cocaine, hallucinogens,
and heroin combined, according to the
2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,
compiled by the US Department of Health
and Senior Services.

Two in five teenagers believe prescription
drugs are “much safer” than
illegal drugs, according to the DEA, and
three in 10 teens believe prescription
painkillers are not addictive.

Each day, 2,500 youths nationally abuse
a prescription pain reliever for the very
first time, according to the Office of
National Drug Control Policy.

Further
efforts:

The
Division of Consumer Affairs is preparing
to launch New Jersey’s Prescription
Monitoring Program (NJPMP), a statewide
electronic database for the tracking of
prescription controlled dangerous substances
(CDS) and human growth hormone (HGH) dispensed
in New Jersey by pharmacists in outpatient
settings, and dispensed into New Jersey
by out-of-state pharmacies.

The NJPMP data will help the Division identify
the warning signs of “doctor shopping,”
in which abusers obtain prescriptions from
multiple doctors in order to hide the full
quantity of drugs they are purchasing. The
NJPMP is also expected to help identify
the indiscriminate prescribing and dispensing
of controlled dangerous substances by medical
practitioners and pharmacists, as well as
assist in informing public health initiatives
by outlining trends of the use and abuse
of prescription drugs.

Calcagni
also noted that the Division – which
includes all of the State’s healthcare
professional licensing boards, including
the Board of Medical Examiners and the Board
of Pharmacy – has been partnering
with law enforcement, regulators, and professional
associations throughout New Jersey and the
country, in a combined effort to halt prescription
drug abuse.

He
specifically gave credit to the DEA, New
Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services,
Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey,
New Jersey Poison Information and Education
Center, Little Falls Police Department,
Seaside Heights Police Department, and Vineland
Police Department for their efforts.